Is SEAS underrated?

<p>Hey guys, a question, why is SEAS so poorly ranked in USNews. I mean, I'm not saying that' the Bible, but it is still strange to see it so badly possitioned</p>

<p>Most Ivies generally have less than stellar engineering departments, and well, although Columbia's SEAS is good, it's can't compare with the schools known for engineering.</p>

<p>Another reason why SEAS appears low is since its only for applied sciences, so therefore it doesn't attract the top applicants who don't want to go to engineering.</p>

<p>It's because it's small with not as much world famous research. However, it does have a few individual departments which are among the best in the country, including Bioengineering and Materials Science.</p>

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although Columbia's SEAS is good, it's can't compare with the schools known for engineering.

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<p>I think shostakovich sums it up good. I think it's easier for a school's ranking to move up in humanities/history/etc. than in engineering & sciences. It's mostly because engineering & science rankings are greatly influenced by research which depends on facilities at the school. A lot of the ivies that are just recently developing their engineering departments (Harvard/Penn/etc.) will rise to the level of MIT/Berkeley/Stanford in a couple (decades?) of years.</p>

<p>An advantage that Columbia's SEAS has is that it has been trying to rise up for some time and because it's a private (and rich) it has the resources to improve. Give Columbia some time and it will approach the top of the engineering rankings.</p>